Gamophobia
by Shizuku Tsukishima749
Summary: The play that was a wedding occurred fifteen years ago, but Violet Baudelaire never made a full recovery. Oneshot.


_A/N: _This fic came as a result of reading too many ASOUE fanfics and seeing a few clips of the movie on YT. Specifically, the scene in the movie that struck me was the wedding scene, which made me wonder if Violet might somehow have been scarred from that experience (I mean, really, married to _Olaf_? _Ew_!). Thus, I looked up the phobia for 'fear of marriage' (story title, gamophobia), and this was born!

The kids' ages in this fanfic come from how old the kids are at the end of the series: Sunny is two, Klaus is thirteen (nearly fourteen), and Violet is sixteen when the series ends.

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**Gamophobia**

Thirteen years ago everything ended.

Everything came to a screeching halt when Olaf died. What was left of his troupe was completely run aground and, thus, was apprehended shortly thereafter, being tried for more believable crimes, as the Baudelaires had come to understand by then that the adults in their lives would not listen, even if their lips spilled nothing but truth. The children, their names now cleared of any and all crimes set against them, were free at long last, having clawed their way out of the series of unfortunate events that had come to define them.

Thirteen years ago everything started.

With all of the legal issues straightened out, they stayed with Justice Strauss for a little under two years until Violet turned eighteen, on which day they went to the bank to sort out the affairs that came with inheriting the Baudelaire fortune. For a month after, they searched for and eventually found the perfect house for themselves: painted white with two stories, it had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sizable kitchen, dining room, and sitting room, and even a private library for Klaus. The three loved it the moment they saw it, and over the course of the next nine years they made the house their home.

And while the children were indeed quite wealthy, they were almost overly cautious when it came to flaunting it (though no one can blame them, seeing as money had been the driving force of their misfortune).

But for all of their monetary gain, one thing still hangs over their heads.

Phobias have had the world by the throat since the beginning of time.

Acrophobia: fear of heights.

Bibliophobia: fear of books (which Klaus will never understand).

Catoptrophobia: fear of mirrors.

Hydrophobia: fear of water.

Triskaidekaphobia: fear of the number thirteen…etc…etc…

Likewise, Klaus has had every phobia known to man memorized since he was six. And he supposes he and his siblings should count themselves lucky because, of such an extensive list, only one has ever directly affected their lives.

Gamophobia. Fear of marriage.

It isn't his fear, and certainly not Sunny's, who has only just reached her fifteenth year. No… It is their beloved, undeserving Violet who suffers.

If she were beautiful at sixteen, then at twenty-nine she is gorgeous. Long hair reaching halfway past her thin shoulders, her brown eyes shine with intelligence and worldly wisdom as her manner exudes kindness, love, and the belief that there is always something to be made out of nothing. She is enchanting no matter what way one looks at her.

Yet while all of this is true, while Violet is very happy with the way her life has turned out, there is one festering wound on her heart that has failed to heal, even after all of these years.

She knows it's silly, knows she should be over it by now, especially when it didn't mean anything…but ever since she'd been bound to Count Olaf in holy matrimony, even if for just a few seconds, she's been scared to death of the idea of getting married herself.

And as her confidant, her best friend, her _brother _above all else, it tears Klaus up inside to know that he can't help her more than he has. Sunny, too, despairs at being so helpless, but Violet merely gives them small smiles and tells them she'll be all right someday. But _when_?

She has only dated four men in her life, with two to three year intervals between. She is sure of her choices, though her siblings expect no less. All of them are sound, good men, those who are all right with the eccentricities of her family, who get along with her siblings even when she's not around, who are willing to indulge in the silly things the three tend to do.

But for everything Violet is, she becomes deathly afraid when a relationship overdevelops—when the man intends to propose (something the Baudelaires only know because running from Olaf required them to hone their people-reading skills). Every one has been turned down.

Klaus and Sunny, though they keep out of sight and pretend to be minding their own business, have been present for all of them. Violet always lets them down gently, only dipping her head when it is absolutely necessary to keep her would-be-fiancé from seeing the terrified tears that have begun to fall. Without looking back, Violet walks away, fists clenched and shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

That is when Sunny and Klaus move in, hoping to catalyze the humiliated man's healing before running to catch up with Violet.

"It's not you, you know," Klaus mends quietly, an arm around Sunny's shoulders as he tries his best to offer an apologetic, encouraging smile. "Marriage is a sore subject for our family. Violet's just never gotten over it."

Normally, the man won't answer, instead settling for staring dazedly in the direction in which Violet had gone. He might nod slowly, look at them with a quirked brow or questioning face, but he is forever silent.

The two younger Baudelaire orphans understand Violet's fear better than anyone else ever could, and it is for this reason that they are so protective. Her tears and hysteria break their hearts, but they keep up their end of the unspoken bargain—they observe and step in when the envelope's reached its limit—because they love her. Because they _need_ each other, and after all she has done and sacrificed for them, there is absolutely nothing they won't do for her.

Finally, on the evening of her thirtieth birthday, the man Violet has been dating for six months changes everything.

They are in the entryway when it happens, her boyfriend on his way out after celebrating the occasion with her family. Smiling, he stops a confused Violet from opening the door and gets down on one knee, not seeming to notice how pale Violet has become. Eyes widening and heart racing, she can't believe what's happening until it's been done: out of his jacket he pulls a velvet box, diamond ring nestled inside.

Her throat is so tight with anxiety she can't speak, and when he reaches for one of her hands, she flinches as if he's burned her. A flash of a snarl crosses his face, she swears it, but when she looks again there is the same kind smile as always.

"Violet, in these last months I have come to love both you and your family very much," he begins slowly, in a soft, silky voice he's never used with her before, though she doesn't pay much mind as she frantically tries to understand where she and her siblings went wrong. Why hadn't they picked up on this? "Yet, in order to love you as you so deserve, there must be union between our two families." In this moment he pauses, looking up to see her reaction.

Violet, for her part, is doing her best. To keep her tears at bay she bites her tongue until it bleeds, choosing to stare down at the floorboards beneath her feet as she tries to breathe steadily. "If you're asking me to marry you…" she whispers, voice breathy and wavering as her face is pale, "…I'm so sorry…but I can't."

The room is silent, and the atmosphere turns suddenly very cold.

"And why not?" he shouts angrily, jumping to his feet and glaring at her downturned face. "Haven't I given you everything you've ever wanted? Haven't I taken care of your family, little ruffians that they are? Give me one good reason you won't marry me!"

She is afraid of this new side of him, more afraid than she's been in years. "I _can't_!" she shoots back weakly, voice cracking and body beginning to shake with the weight of everything. "Please understand, this isn't about you! It _isn't_! It's all my fault!" The sobs come now, making her words nearly unintelligible. "It's _my _fault!"

"Explain yourself! _Now_, before I lose my temper, you rotten ingrate!" he retorts hotly.

Violet bites her, although she keeps enough sanity in the forefront of her mind to make sure she doesn't bleed through again. He would never believe her, not in a million years; he'd be just like everyone else, everyone they'd tried to tell during Olaf's crazed goose chase. So what could she—?

The thought is left unfinished as the man abruptly grabs Violet's upper arms and squeezes painfully, leaning in so close to her face that their noses are practically touching. Her wide eyes expand even more, and she doesn't dare breathe.

"I don't _like_ to be kept _waiting_, my _dear_," he drawls menacingly, accentuating his words with a periodic tightening of his already-iron grip. "So what is your answer, _darling_?" In his mind the ensuing quiet says it all, though in truth Violet had been working up the nerve to tell him everything. The shouting begins again, though this time it is accompanied by kicks toward furniture and even toward Violet. "_This_ is the thanks I get for breaking my back for you and those snot-nosed brats you call siblings? _This _is how you repay me for everything I've done?" The man's face turns cherry-red and his eyes are murderous. "You led me on all this time, didn't you? You wanted what I had, so you sucked what you could out of me before cutting me loose, is that it? I knew from the moment I met you that's what you were, a _leech_! Why didn't I _listen_?" He shakes his fists at the air, at some evil only he can see in his mind's eye. "You are a _devil_, you hear me, a_ devil_! Heartless, wretched, foul—!"

And suddenly the noise stops, but merely because another has replaced it. Violet, being pushed too far at last, shatters. Falling to her knees, she hugs herself tightly as tears stream and sobs wrack her small frame. Through it all she hysterically unravels the truth of her gamophobia.

At hearing even just a portion of the story, however, the man is convinced she's half-mad, if not all the way so, and he reacts by screaming at and cursing her all the more heatedly.

And it is at this moment that Klaus and Sunny rush in to investigate.

They take in the disturbing scene at once—their broken sister, her enraged boyfriend, and the dreaded story tumbling from her mouth—and they take immediate charge. Their sister is being mentally and verbally tortured before their very eyes, and there is no way they'll stand for it.

Sunny moves toward Violet while Klaus steps up to the boyfriend, sizing him up even though he himself is obviously much shorter and weaker. "_Pardon me_!" Klaus interjects forcefully above the man's shouts and the violent sobbing to which Violet's words have dwindled. When he has the man's grudging attention he smirks, his tone softening to a venomous threat: "Don't you know what time it is? I think you should be going, don't you?"

Firmly grabbing hold of the man's expensive coat and not letting go even when the man's clawing fingernails draw blood, he continues to drag him until they are both outside with the door shut behind them (Klaus is convinced he experienced an adrenaline rush here, as the man could easily have bashed his head in).

From inside, the girls hear the sounds of a heated argument going on for several minutes, protective brother on one side and boyfriend with the hidden personality on the other. In the next instant the unmistakable _whoosh _of air and _thud _of fists colliding with flesh, one after the other, and finally, all is quiet.

One tense moment later, Klaus walks back through the door, closing and locking it securely behind him before moving carefully toward Violet. Sunny is running her fingers through the distraught girl's hair, and he smiles a bit at the sight before kneeling slowly in front of his eldest sister and resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

He is just so with her that she is not startled by the contact, and she lifts her red, tear-stained face to peer into his eyes. But something she sees makes her stop short and gasp softly.

"Oh, Klaus…" she breathes sadly, stretching shaky fingers toward his slowly swelling black eye. Reaching up, he catches her hand and entwines their fingers with a tender, reassuring smile.

"A bruise will heal with time, Violet," he asserts softly, the fingers of his free hand lovingly caressing her damp cheek. "And any pain I can take for you is worth it. Always."

The words are so loving that the floodgates reopen, though this time out of happiness, and she hugs Klaus and Sunny to her for all they're worth (_everything_).

She'll be all right someday. They know it.

For the Baudelaires, three who have suffered so much joy and torment always side-by-side, are love enough.

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_A/N: _This is my first ASOUE fanfic and I haven't read the books in years (that being said, I read through the 12th, but not the thirteen, so forgive me if the beginning second paragraph is wrong! Really, did any of Olaf's troupe survive?), so I hope this is all right!

Also, just for clarification: the first four boyfriends were angels, but the fifth is a jerk, and he kept it so well concealed that not one of the Baudelaires sensed it (_exactly_ how, I don't know... XD).

Thanks for reading!


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